Launching Writing Projects From The Notebook

 

One of the challenges facing writing teachers is how best to support student writers to move the writing focus beyond their writer’s notebook towards more intensive and sustained writing projects. We want the young writer to lift their gaze beyond the edges of the notebook and strike out in new areas with their writing. 

The writer’s notebook is a tool for writing. It is not intended for the entries to become ensnared; trapped in a word prison. The notebook contains many beginnings and not all of them are destined to be launched beyond the notebook pages, but their presence affords the writer options. The skill lies in identifying and lifting out that piece, or pieces, the writer feels have the most potential for developing into something beyond the notebook page. It will be a piece they can imagine themselves working on for a longer time.

Engaging writers in conversations that encourages a desire to delve back into notebook entries, engage in some considered re-reading and consider which pieces have the most potential for further attention should be a priority for those of us who are teachers of writing.

We must also ask them to think about genre and begin to plan for a writing project that may be launched from the assembled notebook entries. Remind your writers that the content of their notebook entries will help them to decide the form of the writing project. This becomes an important consideration for any writer who is beginning to form a vision of how they might move their raw words from the notebook towards a more polished piece of writing

This movement from notebook entries to writing projects is an important objective . We should aim for the movement between the notebook and sustained writing projects to become quite a fluid transition over the course of the year.

Helping the inexperienced writer avoid becoming trapped in a whirlpool of copious notebook entries (that never grow and develop into something more fully developed) remains a critical consideration, for those of us responsible for teaching writing. It can prove quite daunting for inexperienced writers to strike out in this direction. They keep adding notebook entries, but never quite seem to reach the launching pad when it comes to identifying a piece that wish to more fully craft. It's as if they are trapped in a notebook vortex. 

For this reason young writers need to see how a more experienced writers goes about this process of identifying a suitable notebook entry, articulating their thoughts regarding a suitable genre and then sharing the logical next step of planning and launching a writing project.  A teacher is afforded a wonderful opportunity to shine a clear light on possibility at this point of the process. The potential of notebook entries must be mindfully exposed in ways that encourage the young writer to envision such moves with their own notebook entries. Encourage them to go on a treasure hunt...

As stated earlier, notebooks sometimes contain entries destined to go no further. Many of the collected entries may represent a promising start and need to be reread, reconsidered and expanded. Sometimes a notebook may contain several related entries around a topic or theme. On other occasions notebook entries may be connected through form or genre- a number of poems, recounts, memoir pieces, information pieces, viewpoints and opinions may be present on the pages. Maybe they can be combined into a collection- a book, an anthology perhaps?

For the young writer a working sense of genre takes time to develop. Teachers have a strong role to play in expanding genre possibilities from which the writer may choose. Hybrid texts should be discussed as a further possibility.

Encourage students to practice regular rereading of their notebooks and have them note the entries that hold the most appeal. 

Making a plan for the writing project does not have to be overly complex. A simple time line or some dot points may be all that is required. This can be done in the notebook. Pre-writing should help the writer, not act as a hindrance.  Don’t overdo the planning with graphic organizers, thinking webs, and story maps. The energy needs to be preserved for the most important part- the actual crafting of the words. Encourage the writer to develop a vision of the finished piece.

• What do you want to include?

• How will you organize the writing?

• What are some craft moves you have identified to give your writing more power?

• What should happen first, next, last? 

• How do you want to publish it?

• Where do you want to publish it?

The aim of all this effort is allow the young writer to experience the joy that flows from creating a piece of writing, both powerful and memorable, from the raw stuff gathered earlier in a notebook. Something more polished, of which they can take pride.  It’s a journey worth taking. It is also a journey that becomes easier with practice.






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular With Other Visitors

Writing Opposite Poems

Image
 O pp o s ite  P oem s In his book, ' How To Write Poetry,'  Paul Janeczko presents the idea of opposite poems. Paul suggests they could also be referred to as antonym poems. This is wordplay and it's fun to try. Here are some examples Paul provides to help us see very clearly how these short little poems work. I think the opposite of chair Is sitting down with nothing there What is the opposite of kind? A goat that butts you from behind Paul Janeczko You will  notice the poems are written in rhyming couplets. They can be extended so long as you remember to write in couplets. Paul shows us how this is done. What is the opposite of new? Stale gum that's hard to chew A hot-dog roll as hard as rock Or a soiled and smelly forgotten sock You might notice that some of Paul's opposite Poems begin with a question. The remainder of the poem answer the question posed. Opposite poems are a challenge, but it is a challenge worth trying. Not every thing has a
Read more

Writing About Reading - Reading Reflection Journals:

Image
UPDATED February 2022 Writing in response to literature can be a great way for students to organize their thoughts, explore what they think, and generate ideas. One of the strengths of writing in journals is that it allows students to capture all of those great ideas that generally float off into the air during the discussion.  Journal writing can also become drudgery if students are asked to write too often, given little choice or inspiration in what to write, or if they simply don't have anything to say. While some students eagerly share their impressions about selections they have read in class discussions, others are less comfortable and keep their thoughts to themselves. In an effort to encourage all students to think more about what they read and confidently share their observations and opinions, some teachers are turning to the reading reflection journal and are gaining insights they never anticipated.  The Value of Reflection Journals   Journals assist teachers to gain i
Read more

Learning How to 'Zoom In' When Writing

Image
It is important for young writers to understand that not all parts of a story are equal. There are parts through which a writer moves quickly, and important parts where the writer slows down and lingers a while. This is where the writer might intensify the action or reveal the character’s reactions in greater detail. Young writers need to know that this is a deliberate strategy on the part of the author. The author consciously zooms in. The writer uses a magnifying glass to view a part of the story more closely; to focus on a moment and to slow down time. When an important part of the story is enlarged upon, it   is a signal to the reader, that this part of the story is important. The strategy of ‘zooming in’ goes by many names: ‘exploding a moment’ ‘magnifying a moment’, ‘hotspot’ ‘snapshot’, ‘adding detail’ or ‘slowing the action.’  What ever the name, the idea is the same. The author writes in a way that expands a significant part of the story with the intention of drawing t
Read more

Answering Questions Posed by Young POETS

Image
UPDATED, May 2020 As a frequent visitor to schools I have the great pleasure of working with groups of young, enthusiastic poets and their teachers. When I arrive in a classroom, young poets are often pre-loaded with questions, and most keen to have them answered.  I try to answer as many as I can, but we frequently run out of time, and the poetry caravan moves on to the next classroom. So I am here to answer some of those questions -right here, right now. So here goes: When you were little did you love writing? The short answer is yes. I have always enjoyed words and language. I can't recall a time when I wasn't doing some kind of writing. When did you write your first poetry book? I have had poems published over the years, but it wasn't until 2014 that I had an entire book of poems (an anthology) published. When I looked back through all my notebooks I realized I had hundreds of poems from which to choose. So, 'Searching For Hen's Teeth-Poetry From The
Read more

Slice Of Life Story-The Trials Of A Left Handed Writer

Image
Amazingly I learnt to write using my left hand. An achievement against the prevailing beliefs of the day. My very first teacher saw it as her mission in life to ‘fix’ the poor, wretched little boy suffering from what she clearly diagnosed as left handed disease. She must have thought, 'This child must be re formatted! If he remains left handed he will be forever condemned to writing in a scrawl that no one will be able to read. Ugly hand, ugly hand.' ...They tried to say it couldn't be done, it mustn't be done. They took the pencil out of my left hand and placed it in my right hand. It felt unnatural. It felt weird. It was not right. More to the point it was not left. I was not about to conform. At least they didn't try tying my hand behind my back. Watch me I said. I may be an oddball, left handed scribbler but I am a determined oddball. I mean how boring would the world be if everyone wrote with their right hand? So I dug my toes in –and my hands to
Read more